Decision On Waste Put Off

Nk Board Ponders Regional Approach

NEW KENT — The Board of Supervisors tabled action Wednesday night on joining a regional waste management authority after residents questioned the benefits of joining.

The supervisors voted unanimously to delay to their May meeting a decision after a hearing was held on whether to join the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority.

The authority is intended to help localities on a regional basis meet state-imposed waste management guidelines, said Kevin Byrnes, director of technical services for the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission. One of the key standards is that localities must file a plan by July 1991 on how to recycle at least 10 percent of their garbage.

The key dilemma facing New Kent and other localities considering membership is this: Is it cheaper or easier to try to meet the state's recycling guidelines alone or within a group? Byrnes said it would be cheaper for the small rural localities like New Kent and Charles City County to provide a plan on a regional basis.

To some residents it was not clear. In response to a question from Edmund Shaw about the benefits, County Administrator H. Garrett Hart III said it would be hard to compare costs because the projects planned by the authority are not known. He projected an initial cost of $1 million to $4 million for the county to start its own recycling program.

The governing bodies of Colonial Heights, Ashland, Richmond, Petersburg, Hopewell and Goochland, Prince George and Chesterfield counties have already agreed to join the authority, Byrnes said Wednesday night. The authority's start-up operating costs of $403,000 will be borne by each locality at the rate of 50 cents per resident. New Kent's estimated fee is $5,300. Charles City, Henrico, Hanover and Powhatan counties have passed resolutions of their preliminary intent to join and will vote to join or not in the next several weeks, Byrnes said.

The supervisors in Dinwiddie County, who were involved in early discussions about the authority, voted not to join the group, Byrnes said.

Residents voiced concern that a county with a vast amount of undeveloped land and few people like New Kent may provide more benefits to urban areas like Richmond and Petersburg than it would get in return.

Ed Hayes voiced skepticism over the authority's power of eminent domain and the localities' apparent lack of control over what projects might be built in the county despite opposition by the county.

"To relinquish control over whether you want a landfill or not is unreasonable," Hayes said.

Byrnes responded that the limits of an authority's power of eminent domain are under review by the attorney general's office.

The supervisors will discuss the matter again when they meet at 7:30 p.m. May 14.